South Sudan's president fires army chief after seven months in post
No reason was given for the firing of Paul Nang Majok in the announcement late on Monday. Majok had been in the post since December. The announcement said Kiir had appointed Dau Aturjong as the Chief of Defence Forces.
Majok was in charge of the army while fighting raged between the army and the White Army, an ethnic militia largely comprising Nuer youths, triggering the country's latest political crisis.
"There has been a tradition that when you are appointed, or reassigned there are no reasons (given) for getting appointed and there are no reasons given for getting relieved. It is normal," said Lul Ruai Koang, South Sudan army spokesperson.
South Sudan has been formally at peace since a 2018 deal ended the five-year conflict responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, but violence between rival communities flares frequently.
In March, First Vice President Riek Machar was put under house arrest, stirring fears of renewed conflict.
Information Minister Michael Makuei said the arrest was due to Machar contacting his supporters and "agitating them to rebel against the government with the aim of disrupting peace so that elections are not held and South Sudan goes back to war."
Machar's party has previously denied government accusations that it backs the White Army, which clashed with the army in the northeastern town of Nasir in March.
In May, South Sudan's army said it had recaptured the town from the White Army.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
Rwanda hostel spruced up with £20m of Brit taxpayer cash to receive first deportees — from America
THE Rwanda hostel spruced up with £20million of British taxpayers' money to house our unwanted migrants is to receive its first deportees — from America. Rwanda is taking in 250 migrants thrown out of the US under Donald Trump's mass removal programme. 2 Some will enjoy hotel-quality facilities at Hope Hostel, which was readied under the then-Tory government's deportation scheme last summer. The £700million plan was ditched when Labour won the election. Trump is now pushing ahead with his scheme. A Hope Hostel source told The Sun yesterday: 'We are always ready to provide the best services to the customers.' Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo confirmed those arriving in the country would be given support. She added: 'Under the agreement, Rwanda has the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement. 'Those approved will be provided with workforce training, healthcare and accommodation support to jump-start their lives in Rwanda.' The initial agreement — signed last month — is for 250 people but can be extended if both countries agree. Britain signed its agreement in 2022. Four UK arrivals were sent to Rwanda but that was under a separate voluntary scheme and did not involve their moving into Hope Hostel. Ismael Bakina, boss of the private operator of the hostel, said the US arrivals would be surprised at the quality of the services offered, adding: 'This is not a prison or a detention centre.' I visited Rwanda's £20m 'migrant hotel' where UK asylum seekers will stay – it's got Premier League on TV & footie pitch 2
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Rwanda take up to 250 migrants deported from the US, spokesperson tells the BBC
Rwanda has said it will accept up to 250 migrants from the US in a deal agreed with President Donald Trump's the scheme the deportees would be given "workforce training, health care, and accommodation to jump start their lives in Rwanda", government spokesperson Yolande Makole confirmed to the BBC.A condition of the agreement was that Rwanda would have "the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement", she White House has not commented on the deal directly but told the BBC it was constantly talking to countries "willing to assist us in removing the illegal aliens that [ex-President] Joe Biden" had allowed to "infiltrate" the US. Since Trump came back into power in January, he has focused on a sweeping mass deportation scheme to remove undocumented migrants from the US quickly, a key election promise. Destination: Africa - is it legal for US to deport foreign criminals to the continent?Is Rwanda a land of safety or fear?Murmurs of a deal between Rwanda and the US came out in May, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was "actively searching" for a country to take some of what he described as the "some of the most despicable human beings".The Trump administration has been courting several African countries to accept deported migrants whose home countries have refused to take them back. Eswatini and South Sudan have recently accepted some, including some deportees who are convicted Makolo told the BBC that Rwanda had gone ahead with the deal with the US because "nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement". She added that Rwandan society values were founded "on reintegration and rehabilitation".This echoed comments from May when Rwanda's foreign affairs minister said the country, which went through a genocide in the mid-1990s, was led in the "spirit" of giving "another chance to migrants who have problems across the world".Under a deal agreed with the UN refugee agency and African Union six years ago, nearly 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers trapped in Libya were evacuated to Rwanda between September 2019 and April 2025. The UN says many of these people have subsequently been resettled had a deal with the UK, agreed with the Conservative government in 2022, to accept asylum the UK scrapped the scheme, which faced numerous legal challenges, after Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government took office in July last year. The UK had paid Rwanda £240m ($310m), even building places to house the asylum seekers. It is not clear what has happened to these Reuters news agency reported that an unnamed Rwandan official had said the US would give Kigali an unspecified grant as part of the deal, but this has not been Makolo told the BBC that more details would be provided once they had been worked rights experts have raised concerns that removals to a nation that is not a migrant's place of origin - known as a third country - could violate international has previously been criticised for its human rights record, including the risk that those sent to the East African nation could be deported again to countries where they may face Rwanda's government maintains it can provide a safe place for country has also come under fire for backing the M23 rebel group embroiled in the conflict in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo - an accusation it has denied. In June, a ceasefire deal was signed in Washington by Rwanda and DR Congo as part of an ongoing peace process aimed at ending three decades of instability in the reporting from the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in Nairobi and Bernd Debusmann Jr at the White House You may also be interested in: Hope Hostel in Rwanda, where migrants from UK were destined to stayWhat happened when Israel sent its refugees to RwandaRefugees sent to Rwanda from remote UK island speak to BBCThe rapid remaking of a nation, in 100 daysHow Trump wants the US to cash in on mineral-rich DR Congo's peace dealWhich other countries send asylum seekers overseas? Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
US requires Zambia, Malawi citizens to pay up to $15,000 bond for some visitor visas
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration will require visa applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, the State Department said on Tuesday. "Starting August 20, 2025, any citizen or national traveling on a passport issued by one of these countries who is found otherwise eligible for a B1/B2 visa must post a bond in amounts of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, determined at time of visa interview," the State Department said in a notice on its website. A notice about the program, which gives U.S. consular officers worldwide the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, appeared on the Federal Register on Monday but no country names had been mentioned. A State Department spokesperson on Monday said countries would be identified based on "high overstay rates, screening and vetting deficiencies, concerns regarding acquisition of citizenship by investment without a residency requirement, and foreign policy considerations." The spokesperson, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the list of countries may be updated from time to time. The bond amount will be returned to the applicant if the applicant leaves the U.S. within the allowed window of time in line with their visa and complies with all the terms of their visa status. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arresting people who are in the U.S. illegally. He issued a travel ban in June that fully or partially blocks citizens of 19 nations from entering the U.S. on national security grounds. Numerous countries in Africa, including Burundi, Djibouti and Togo, also had high overstay rates, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data from fiscal year 2023. Visa holders who have posted a visa bond must arrive and depart the United States via three specific ports of entry, the State Department notice said on Tuesday. It listed those as Boston Logan Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Washington Dulles Airport. It warned that if such travelers arrive or depart from anywhere else, they could be denied entry or their departure may not be appropriately registered.
